By Charnie

Our family took a vacation to Newport, RI several years ago. Included in our sightseeing was a visit to the historic Touro Synagogue. In the bookshop there I picked up a rather amusing book called Boychiks in the Hood : Travels in the Hasidic Underground: by Robert Eisenberg which opens with a first sentence: “Imagine: It is the year 2075, and the only Jews left in the United States, aside from a few old-timers, are Hasidim and other Orthodox.” Read the first page.

For those of us who are a part of the “BT Phenomena” that doesn’t appear to be a far-fetched idea. The most visible proof is in keeping a family tree. I’m our family genealogist, i.e., “the keeper of the family tree”. There are as many branches in there as I’ve got information on. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to appreciate the fact that the frum branches are blossoming, while the others, for the most part, are wilting. It’s probably a safe guess that among the married participants of this blog, the median family size might be approximately 3-4 children.
Read more The Numbers Game ›

Serach and Ezzie of SerandEz fame have given birth to a baby girl! We wish them all of the best and a hearty Mazel Tov!

Although the Web does provide some excellent D’vrei Torah and such, when you really want to learn – Seforim still rule. And every Jew needs regular Torah learning as a part of their spiritual diet.

So may we suggest moseying down to the SOY Seforim Sale and picking up some new material. According to their Web Site, they are conveniently located at 2495 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan (Washington Heights), NY.

The sale continues through next Sunday, February 26 and they have some of the best prices available on the largest selection of seforim in any one location.

FYI – besides being a healthy protein substitute, SOY also stands for the Student Organization of Yeshiva who is sponsoring this great event.

If I were to give one piece of advice to a couple engaged in the process of becoming more observant, I suggest this: move to a remote, slightly rural location with few Jews and an even fewer observant Jewish community. It has become apparent to me, since this is what my husband and I did, that not being in a Jewish community has had a direct correlation to our thought process and decision-making regarding our observance. We live in State College, PA – home to Penn State University and the Nittany Lions, and located within 3.5 hours of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Nittany Valley is home to football-crazed fans, about 40,000 undergraduate students, and more pizza shops than one can count. It is also our home since we got married 2.5 years ago, and remarkably, I can’t think of a better place to become more observant in Judaism.
Read more Becoming Observant in the Land of the Nittany Lions ›

Many years ago, on my way to work I stopped by a local kosher establishment to pick up a bagel to take to work for lunch. I began chatting with the owner. He didn’t recognize my face and we began to schmooze. I told him I had just returned from Eretz Yisrael and how much I missed bagels…it is so hard to find a good, real, bagel in Jerusalem. His daughter was in seminary there…where did I learn? All the regular stuff. He then asked me where I went for Shabbos.

Tears welled up in my eyes and began to spill down my face.
Read more Feeding your Neshama…Find for Yourself a Family…or Two…or Three…or More ›